LightFury Games has raised $11 million in a pre-Series A funding round as the company looks to build one of India’s biggest AAA cricket gaming franchises.
The funding round saw participation from investors including Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI and Times Internet.
The round also attracted several top Indian cricketers as investors, including MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma and Sai Sudharsan.
Industry experts say the funding reflects rising investor interest in India’s fast growing gaming and interactive entertainment sector.
LightFury Building AAA Cricket Gaming Franchise
Founded in 2024 by Karan Shroff, Anurag Banerjee and Tina Balachandran, LightFury Games is currently developing eCricket, a AAA cricket gaming title designed primarily for mobile users.
According to the company, the newly raised capital will be used to complete game development and strengthen live operation capabilities, including post launch infrastructure, player experience systems and content pipelines.
The company aims to create a globally scalable cricket gaming ecosystem with high end graphics, realistic gameplay mechanics and long term live service capabilities.
Built On Unreal Engine 5
LightFury said eCricket is being developed on Unreal Engine 5, one of the world’s most advanced game development platforms.
The game is designed around physics based gameplay and strategic batting and bowling systems intended to replicate real-world cricket dynamics and player styles.
Industry analysts believe the use of Unreal Engine 5 signals the company’s ambition to compete within the premium AAA gaming segment rather than casual mobile gaming.
AAA games typically involve higher production quality, advanced graphics, larger development teams and long-term live operations compared to traditional mobile titles.
Cricket Gaming Seen As Large Opportunity
India’s gaming market has expanded rapidly over the last few years due to rising smartphone penetration, cheaper internet access and increasing digital consumption.
However, industry observers note that India still lacks globally recognised AAA gaming intellectual property despite being one of the world’s largest gaming markets by user base.
LightFury is attempting to address that gap by building a cricket-focused gaming franchise around one of India’s most popular sports.
The company has already secured global player roster licences covering more than 600 professional cricketers, including names such as Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins.
Industry experts believe licensed player ecosystems could become a major competitive advantage in sports gaming.
Investors See Global Potential
Karthik Reddy said Blume backed LightFury from its inception because of its ambition to build globally competitive gaming intellectual property from India.
According to Reddy, building a AAA game requires long-term creative excellence, deep technical expertise and disciplined execution.
He added that the company’s AI-native development tools and global talent pool position it strongly within the evolving gaming ecosystem.
“We would like it to be the Dhurandhar of Indian gaming history,” Reddy said.
Indian Gaming Industry At Inflection Point
The funding comes at a time when India’s gaming ecosystem is undergoing rapid transformation.
While casual gaming and fantasy sports platforms have dominated historically, investors are increasingly showing interest in high-quality gaming studios capable of building original intellectual property with global appeal.
Industry analysts believe India’s combination of engineering talent, mobile-first users and expanding digital infrastructure could create significant opportunities for large scale gaming companies over the next decade.
The entry of high profile cricketers into gaming investments also highlights how sports and gaming ecosystems are beginning to converge more closely in India.
As gaming consumption rises globally, companies like LightFury are attempting to position India not only as a gaming market but also as a creator of premium gaming content and franchises.
